Webfolio DefenseM.Ed. Culminating Experience

Purpose of theWebfolio Defense

A successfulwebfolio defense is one wayMaster of Education candidates may conclude their program in Curriculum and Instruction. Its focus is on the seven program outcomes and how they have been addressed by candidates, through course work; their professional work, and an articulation of how their course work and professional work has aligned them personally and professionally with the College of Education’s conceptual framework.

The seven outcomes of the Master of Education program are:

  1. Philosophy and Educational Organizations – CI Masters degree graduates have a comprehensive understanding of the philosophical, historical, social, political and cultural understanding of schools and society.
  1. Curriculum – CI Masters degree graduates understand that curriculum should be relevant, engaging, challenging, and integrative for the learner. They know how to select, adapt and reflect on theories and engage in reflective practices in light of curriculum standards, theories, models and learners.
  1. Instruction – CI Masters degree graduates understand the principles of instruction know a wide variety of teaching strategies and learning theories and incorporate relevant technologies while teaching core concepts, skills of inquiry, problem posing/solving, collaboration, and communication to facilitate student learning.
  1. Assessment and Evaluation – CI Masters degree graduates analyze and understand the various roles of multiple types of assessments for monitoring, evaluating and responding to student learning; they understand, develop, use and critique formal, informal, and performance assessment techniques, including local, state, and national assessment systems to improve student learning.
  1. Research – CI Masters degree graduates, as critical consumers of educational research, appreciate the role of educational research for informing practice. M.Ed. graduates develop the skills to conduct classroom research. M.S. graduates, as producers of educational research, collect and analyze data, and formally share their research findings.
  1. Diversity – CI Masters degree graduates understand human diversity as a valued component of educational systems; understand how to appropriately engage with diverse population; effectively structure learning experiences with diverse population; and effectively engage with diverse populations of students, parents, and colleagues.
  1. Subject Knowledge – CI Masters degree students demonstrate their knowledge of the content that they teach through the admissions requirements and/or through content coursework that is included in the degree.

The candidate’s web-based folio will include and present substantive arguments and reflectionsthat support candidates’as educational leaders who posture themselves as educators whoenrich the lives of others by advancing excellence in research and practice in education.

Candidates develop their web-based folios over their entire program, adding, and perhaps changing, entries to reflect progress toward program and personal goals. In heuristic fashion, candidates will complete a “Statement of Philosophy” and “Self-analyses” describing his or her accomplishments regarding the seven outcomes of the program and select artifacts from their course work and argue how their professional work has been affected by their course workand how that demonstratesacademic achievement in each of the seven outcomes. They will house their defense in their web-based folio under the course “EDCI599 Defense.”Candidates must generate persuasivemulti-media presentations inside the web-based folio system that “stand on their own” andthat complement an oral presentation which describes and convincesa panel of adjudicators that the candidate hasmade adequate progress toward enriching lives by advancing excellence in research and practice in education.

Candidates will defend their web-based folio byfacing a panel of faculty and practitioner adjudicators,selected to best reflect each candidates’ area of emphasis.

Each panel member must hold a master’s degree or higher. The three-member adjudication panel will consist of:

1.AMajor Professor

2.An adjudicator who has a master’s degree or higher in the candidate’s area of study and interest, and

3.A third adjudicatorwho has earned a master’s degree or higher.

The adjudicatorswill review the candidate’s web-based folio online and assess it, awarding a score between 1 and 4 (see rubric attached to each goal). The result will be a score for each of the seven outcomes and an overall achievement score for the candidate’s work. Candidates must be awarded a median score of 2.0 or higher to pass.

The scores awarded from each three-member adjudication panel will be averaged by awarding the median score for each goal. Discrepancies of more than one point between adjudicators will be resolved by informal discussion by those involved in the adjudication. Candidates must be awarded a median score of 2.0 or higher to pass the defense.

At the culmination of the master’s candidate’s program, each candidate will orally and graphically present their web-based folios. The one-hour defense will take place in individual meetings and will be open to the public. The students will present their work to at least one of the three panel adjudicators.

During the web-based folio defense, the student will present evidence of academic progress that addresses theseven outcomes of the program through the display of academic products, performances and achievements. Evidence will be presented electronically with the aid of multi-media presentation software.

Following the student’s oral defense the panel member(s) in attendance will notify the candidate whether or not he or she passed his or her web-based folio defense.

All panel members will score each item in the candidate’s webfolio according to the directions and rubrics below:

University of Idaho

Collegeof Education

MASTER OF EDUCATION PROGRAM WEBFOLIO ADJUDICATION

DIRECTIONS FOR ADJUDICATORS-PANEL MEMBERS

Thank you for agreeing to participate in this webfolio evaluation of our Master of Education candidates. Their web-based folios represent work completed and growth experiences throughout theirmaster’s program of study at UI. The student’s “EDCI 599defense” web-based folios are designed to convey academic progress on the seven outcomes of the program, including knowledge, dispositions and skills.

The webfolio adjudication includes both online web-based folio assessment, at the end of the candidate’s programand an oral presentation at the end of their master’s program. In each assessment, each element of “EDCI599 defense” is assessed on its own score sheet. This assessment awards a score for each element presented in the webfolio that indicates how well the outcome is academically achieved by documentation housed on the WWW. Note that the criteria, in the rubrics, are set up as messages to the candidates to help them through the process of web-based folio development and reflection.

Second, the entire webfolio will be assessed and scored. Note that on the OVERALL SCORE RUBRIC, each area has sub components that are to be assessed. These are then summarized in the evaluation for that component shown in bold face. The areas are as follows:

  • OVERALL EVALUATION OF INTRODUCTORY ELEMENTS: including Statement of Philosophy and Self-analyses on all seven goals.
  • OVERALL SCORE ON SEVEN OUTCOME ENTRIES: includes presentations and supporting documents and files.
  • GLOBAL QUALITY OF ALL ENTRIES: includes Overall organization of thought; Overall grammar, Sentence structure, Punctuation, Format, Overall adequacy of content; Overall knowledge of theory

Finally, the entire web-based folio defense is summarized in a GRAND OVERALL RATING.

NOTE: The score scale of 4 to 1, students must receive an average score of two or higher on all components to pass the web-based folio defense.

Candidates will NOT see the score sheets. However, they will be notified of passing status and receive copies of adjudicators’ written comments.

REQUIRED STEPS:

  1. Review the candidate’s web-based folio and score each element with the following rubrics.
  2. Score the candidate’s seven outcome presentations. Other documents and files may be linked within the presentations in support of their defense. Please note, there is one rubric for each of the seven outcomes. Summarize your ratings on the OVERALL SCORING RUBRIC.
  3. Score the introductory pieces and summarize on the OVERALL SCORING RUBRIC.
  4. Using all of the showcase web-based folio components, score the web-based folio on Global Quality of the entries on the OVERALL SCORING RUBRIC.
  5. If you are at the oral defense, at the end of the candidate’s program, consider everything you have seen in the presentations and read/viewed in the showcase web-based folio and give a GRAND OVERALL RATING on the OVERALL SCORING RUBRIC. A successful web-based folio defense will culminate the master’s candidate’s program.

Thank you again for your expertise and time. These web-based folio defensescan only succeed with your critical appraisal of the candidate’s work and your involvement makes the adjudication of the web-based folios a valid and meaningful rite of passage for our graduates.

EDCI GOALS WEBFOLIO DEFENSE

OUTCOME ITEM PRESENTATION RUBRIC

OUTCOME 1: Philosophy and Educational Organizations – CI Masters degree graduates have a comprehensive understanding of the philosophical, historical, social, political and cultural understanding of schools and society.

QUALITY SCORE

PASSNO PASS

CRITERIAMETNOT MET

The Heuristic View4321

Describe the item(s)

The fit with your masters program?

The fit with the masters outcome and the COE vision/mission?

The fit with your professional posture?

The Service View4321

How has this accomplishment empowered you?

How are you more aligned with the COE vision/mission?

How will this accomplishment affect/effect your professional activities?

The Learning View4321

What did you think and feel before and after this accomplishment?

What new skills, concepts and dispositions have you acquired?

What language have you acquired to share your insights with others?

Presentation and Use of Media4321

Does the presentation:

demonstrate effective use of technology to support accomplishment(s)? Yes No
convince the audience that the program outcomewas accomplished? Yes No
have aesthetic qualities that maintain audience interest? Yes No


OVERALL RATING4321

COMMENTS: (To be summarized and shared with students)

NAME: ______

Panel Member______Date: ______

EDCI GOALS WEBFOLIO DEFENSE

OVERALL SCORING RUBRIC

SCORE

PASSNO PASS

CRITERIA

OVERALL ASSESSMENT OF

INTRODUCTORY ELEMENTS4321

Statement of Philosophy is clear

and related to the COE vision/mission4321

Self-analyses addresses all seven outcomes

and shows growth in all areas4321

OVERALL SCORE ON

SEVEN OUTCOME ENTRIES4321

GLOBAL QUALITY OF ALL

WEBFOLIO ENTRIES4321

Overall Organization of Thought4321

Overall grammar, sentence structure,

Punctuation, format4321

Overall adequacy of content4321

Overall knowledge of theory4321

GRAND OVERALL RATING4321

COMMENTS: (To be summarized and shared with students)

NAME: ______

Panel Member______Date: ______